Springfield, MA, officials plan to ask Columbia Gas Co. of Massachusetts for $1 million to cover damages tied to the explosion on its natural gas system in late November. The explosion on the Columbia Gas system rocked Springfield in a three to four block radius, damaging 42 homes and businesses and sending 18 people, mostly first responders, to area hospitals (see NGI, Dec. 3, 2012). Human error by a utility employee was cited as the cause of the blast. According to the initial findings of the fire marshal and the state’s Department of Public Utilities, an unidentified employee of Columbia Gas “accidentally punctured” a pipe in the vicinity of a business on Worthington St., which was the epicenter of the explosion. The proposed settlement would be carved into three components, each carrying a $300,000 to $400,000 price tag. The first component would include fixed costs, such as damages to emergency vehicles, over-time costs and costs for clean-up activities, while the second component addresses personal injury costs and lost time for city workers. The third component would go toward a redevelopment effort of the area.
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Springfield to Ask Columbia for $1M in Damages from Pipe Blast
The top officials of Springfield, MA, plan to ask Columbia Gas Co. of Massachusetts for $1 million to cover damages tied to the explosion on its natural gas system in late November.
Trust Plan Proposed for Canada’s Aging Pipelines
Canada’s 13 biggest pipelines have banded together to create an environmental pension plan to cover the costs of retiring facilities as age and evolving markets end their useful lives.
Trust Plan Proposed for Canada’s Aging Pipelines
Canada’s 13 largest natural gas and oil pipeline companies have banded together to create an environmental pension plan to cover the costs of retiring facilities as age and evolving markets end their useful lives.
BLM Pulls in $4.1M in Utah Lease Sale
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received bonus oil and natural gas bids totaling $4.068 million for 26 parcels in Utah that cover 37,414 acres in the latest quarterly lease sale, officials reported Tuesday.
Frankenstorm Forces Trading Exchanges to Evacuate Manhattan
Taking cover from what the news media is describing as the “Frankenstorm,” which is what is expected to result when Hurricane Sandy veers onshore into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast and collides with a cold front from the West, trading exchanges announced their modified operating plans on Sunday.
Antero Hits Aquifer in West Virginia, Blows Out Abandoned Water Wells
Antero Resources disturbed an aquifer while attempting to dislodge a stuck drillbit at a new Marcellus Shale natural gas well in West Virginia’s Harrison County on Wednesday morning, causing blowouts at four abandoned private water wells.
NRDC Report Calls For Frack Water Restrictions
Focusing on the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) on Wednesday made a pitch for more rules to cover the handling of wastewater produced in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) with the release of a new NRDC report.
Ohio EPA Unveils Air Quality Permit for Shale Gas Wells
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) on Wednesday issued a final general air quality permit designed to cover production operations at natural gas wells in the state’s portion of the Marcellus and Utica shales.
Ohio EPA Issues Air Quality Permit for Shale Gas Wells
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) on Wednesday issued a final general air quality permit designed to cover production operations at natural gas wells in the state’s portion of the Marcellus and Utica shales.
